Weapons of Mass Destruction
Overview A weapon of mass destruction (or simply WMD) in modern UNC definitions refers to any single type of weapon with a capability to decimate large areas either instantaneously, or in a matter of seconds. Weapons such as bombs, stationary offensive platforms, or large enough starship weaponry (such as shock cannons) can all fall under this category. WMDs are carried on all UNMC starships capable of ship to ship combat, although the number of WMDs carried onboard at a given time is relative to the size of the ship itself. The ARC and UMER have also been known to carry such weapons on starships, as well as the Exohumans. Variations Several examples of WMDs exist circa the mid 2300s, and every faction utilizes them in some way. *MK-696 "Tyrant" Hydrogen warhead: Currently in use by both the UNMC and the ARC, the Tyrant bomb is a relatively small warhead. With 500 kilotons of destructive power, these warheads are meant to be used for small scale decimation of an area such as for asteroid mining, however they have been used for military purposes (although limited). Only a few occurrences are known of these weapons being set off, twice during the Factions War and once during the height of the Rebel Insurrection. *Damien thermonuclear warhead: The Damien warhead is meant to be used mostly as a deterrent rather than a direct offensive weapon, loaded with 40 megatons of explosive power, enough to obliterate entire cities. Damien WMDs are the standard fusion warheads carried by UNMC starships, and although they have reduced effectiveness in space combat, any ships close to the quickly dissipating blast will be vaporized instantly or disabled by the bomb's EMP pulse. In 2334, Damien warheads saw an improvement as the Damien OSE warheads were introduced and replaced their older versions, and were optimized for vacuum use specifically. However, both rebel factions still continue to use the older Damien models to this day. * Apocalypse-class Megaton bomb: The Apocalypse bomb is essentially an antimatter-matter bomb with destructive power immensely greater than any fusion of fission bomb could ever have. Even a small portion of antimatter can cause hundreds of times more destruction than nuclear alternatives. Also, the megaton bomb has the added benefit of not causing nuclear fallout after detonation, and is seen as a "clean alternative WMD" to the UNC, who use it in conjunction with Damien warheads on their starships. Megaton bombs have since evolved into 3 different versions since their inception in 2291, each more powerful than the last. Although UNMC and Exohuman starships both carry these WMDs, UNMC ships are usually reluctant to use them except for dire circumstances, as the warheads are very expensive and time consuming to manufacture. Non-warhead/bomb WMDs *Shock Cannon: The Shock Cannon has been considered a WMD since its testing phase, but that hasn't hampered the UNMC's fondness of using them as main guns on all of their capable starships. Running from tiers 1-4, these cannons put out destructive power in the kiloton ranges, with the most powerful version rated at 200 kilotons per-shot, enough to utterly destroy any known ship in existence in a single shot. Using modern antimatter reactor plants, UNMC shock cannons can recharge for follow up shots in seconds allowing them to put out a devastating volume of fire in short amounts of time. Exohumans are the only other faction known to use shock cannons, and seem to understand them slightly better as their cannons tend to fire up to 15% faster than the UNMC's. *Ship-borne railguns/defense platforms: Railguns rated for ship-to ship combat are also classified as WMDs, as vast amounts of energy are needed to damage the thick hull and armor of modern starships, much more to actually destroy them outright. Since 2280, the UNMC has ceased to use railguns as main weapons for their ships, instead using the more powerful shock cannons, while both rebel factions still continue to use the older railgun technology. Although the ARC has managed to improve on their railgun technology in the past couple decades due to years studying UNMC tech. The ARC however has the distinction of being the first faction to use massive, upsized railguns as independent defensive or offensive battle platforms. Though officially designated as planetary defense railguns, they can be moved anywhere as seen fit and are usually set up around points of interest such as colonies and throughout resource-rich systems. These large weapons are armed with a single mega-scale railgun that has enough power to cripple even UNMC Battleships in one shot, effectively classifying them as WMDs purely based on their observed abilities. Although one has never been used to fire on a planet's surface, the action would certainly devastate a significant area of land.